Winking At Thedude became the 19th member of the First Dude $200,000-plus club at Mountaineer Casino & Resort last evening via a neck victory in his 37th career start.

    The 6-year-old gelding bred by Dee-Ellen Cook and Suzette Parker earned a check of $5,046, raising his career total to $203,917, moving him into 18th place on the list, just ahead of Gray Dude.

  Luis Rivera was aboard Winking At Thedude, and settled him into fourth place down the backstretch in the race at six furlongs. The $17,000 Timonium 2-year-old purchase went wide on the turn and out-gamed the leaders to the wire, clocked in 1:12.17. He paid $6.80, and raised his record to 7-10-6, three of the victories coming in 2021.